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Why is Kenyan coffee so sour? What is Kenya's K27 Treatment?

Published: 2026-04-26 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/04/26, When it comes to coffee beans represented by acid, many people will think of African coffee. Among them, coffee from Ethiopia and Kenya are representatives of African coffee. However, the coffee from these two countries also has obvious differences in the performance of acid. Ethiopia's acid is refreshing and bright, while Kenya is thicker and stronger.

When it comes to sour coffee beans, many people will think of African coffee, in which Ethiopian and Kenyan coffee is the representative of African coffee, but there are obvious differences in the sour quality of coffee between the two countries. Ethiopia's acid is more refreshing and bright, while Kenya is thicker and stronger.

Why is Kenyan coffee so sour? In addition to benefiting from the country's rich natural resources, it is also affected by the K72 treatment known in the picture, as well as the main varieties of SL28 and SL34 coffee grown in the country.

Kenya is located in eastern Africa, most of the territory is a plateau with an average of 1500 meters, and is cut north and south by the eastern branch of the East African Rift Valley, dividing the highland into eastern and western parts, and there are many volcanoes along the line. one of the most famous is the extinct volcano Mount Kenya. The soil here is affected by volcanic ash and is rich in phosphoric acid, which makes the coffee here rich in fruit acidity.

Initially, Bourbon Bourbon was planted in Kenya, and Kent Kent and Jamaica Blue Mountain Iron pickup truck Typica were introduced, but none of them was ideal. Therefore, the variety selection was entrusted to Scott Agricultural Laboratory (Scott Laborotary). In the following four years, Kurt Agricultural Laboratory selected 42 coffee trees from different producing areas and studied their yield, quality, drought resistance and disease resistance. All the selected coffee species were prefixed with SL (Laboratory Democratic acronym), and SL28 and SL34 were one of the superior varieties. Today, however, Scott Lab has been renamed Kenya National Agricultural Laboratory (NARL), but the name and number of coffee varieties have been retained.

SL28 is a coffee variety found in a place called Tanganyika (now Tanzania), and genetic tests have confirmed that SL28 is related to the bourbon Bourbon genome. SL34 was selected from a coffee farm in the Kabete area near Nairobi, Kenya's capital, and genetic tests showed that SL34 was linked to the iron pickup Typica genome.

The planting characteristics of SL28 and SL34 are very similar. They both have the characteristics of high yield and easy to grow. They are suitable for planting in middle and high altitude areas and have complex and changeable acidity and flavor and remarkable citrus and black plum characteristics.

Although, the yields of these two varieties are not as large as before, and are vulnerable to viruses such as coffee leaf rust. At the same time, the Kenyan government has also made great efforts to promote the cultivation of coffee varieties with high yield and high disease resistance, such as K7 and Ruiru 11, but their flavor is not as unique and rich as SL28 and SL34. Therefore, many farmers in Kenya are still planting SL28 and SL34 varieties.

In addition to the unique variety of coffee, the Kenyan method of washing is also special. In the general water washing treatment, the fermentation time is rarely more than 36 hours, while the Kenyan water washing treatment is special in that the fermentation time is as long as 72 hours.

After the coffee farmers harvest, the high-quality coffee berries are selected by flotation, peeled and fermented for 24 hours, the pectin is cleaned after fermentation, and then fermented again in a clean pool for 24 hours, then the residual ingredients are cleaned up. Put it into a clean pool to ferment for 24 hours, and finally put it on a special steel rack to dry.

It can be fermented for 72 hours in three cycles, so this treatment is called Kenyan 72-hour fermentation water washing treatment, referred to as K72. Coffee beans fermented for a long time at low temperature can develop bright, clean, but full acidity and flavor.

Combining these conditions, Kenyan coffee is famous all over the world for its bright and complex raspberry sour aroma, sugarcane sweetness and juicy acidity, and is loved by many people in the coffee industry. Qianjie Coffee has a coffee bean from Salia Asail processing Plant in Sika, Kenya, selected SL28 and SL34 varieties, K72 washing treatment, brewed with virgin fruit and black plum flavor, bright acidity, outstanding sweetness, juicy taste and clean taste.

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